P320 vs. P365: Which Modular Sig Should Live on Your Belt in 2025?

Quick-Pick Decision Matrix	Sig P365 Family (e.g., X-MACRO TACOPS, FUSE, AXG Legion)	Sig P320 Family (e.g., XCarry Legion, AXG Legion, M17/M18)
Best For	Deep-concealment, appendix carry, minimalist footprint	Duty/OWB carry, night-stand gun, suppressor/optic play
Typical Footprint	1.1 in. wide; 17 rd flush (X-MACRO)	1.3 in. wide; 17–21 rd mags common
Barrel / Comp Choices	3.1-4.3 in.; integral slide comps on X-MACRO/AXG Legion for <10 % recoil	3.9-5 in.; ports/expansion chambers (AXG Legion) tame flip by ~20 %
Calibers	9 mm only (but plenty of pressure head-room)	9 mm, .40 S&W, .357 SIG, 10 mm (XTEN), .45 ACP
Empty Weight	17–26 oz polymer, 26–34 oz alloy Legion	25 oz (Carry) → 43 oz (TXG grip)
Optics Footprint	ROMEOZero-Elite/Holosun 407K cut; X-MACRO & AXG use RMRcc/PRO pattern	ROMEO2/Trijicon RMR Type 2, or DeltaPoint Pro; direct-mount plates on Legion
Trigger	4.5–5.5 lb, curved; flat-faced on Legion variants	4.3 lb skeletonized flat; lighter break on Legion (~30 % drop)
Street Price (2025)	$500 (P365) → $1 099 (AXG Legion)	$550 (Compact) → $1 199 (AXG Legion)
Deal-Breaker?	Muzzle flash from comp at retention; limited large-hand real estate	Ongoing “accidental discharge” lawsuits & academy bans in WA & CA

Numbers are manufacturer specs averaged across representative models.

“An easy gun to shoot well and an easy gun to love.” — Travis Pike, GAT Daily, on the P365 X-MACRO TACOPS
“The XCarry Legion is well-suited to fill the holsters of military and LE tactical teams.” — Aaron Carter, American Rifleman

Sig Sauer’s two modular striker-fired dynasties now dominate American holsters the way Glock did a decade ago. Both pistols share a stainless steel Fire Control Unit (FCU) you can lift out and drop into any grip shell, so the real question isn’t polymer vs. metal—it’s which ecosystem solves your defensive problem set with fewer trade-offs.

Below is a brutally candid, data-rich tear-down of each family, peppered with first-hand range notes, reliability math, and a dash of inside-baseball banter you won’t find in glossy catalog copy.

1. Size, Print & Everyday Carry Practicality

P365 Line-Up

• OG P365: 10+1 flush, 3.1-in. barrel, still king of deep conceal.
• P365 XL: 12 or 15+1, 3.7-in. barrel, optics-ready.
• P365 X-MACRO TACOPS: Full-grip 17+1, integral two-port compensator cuts muzzle flip ~9 %.
• P365 FUSE: 4.3-in. barrel squeezes extra 50–70 fps from +P loads.
• P365 AXG Legion: Alloy grip, integral comp, flat trigger, 34 oz heft that soaks recoil like a commander-length 1911.

Pros

• Disappears under a T-shirt even on trim frames.
• Macro & Legion give you duty-gun shootability without Glock 17 bulk.
• One magazine pattern—mix and match 10/12/15/17s.

Cons

• Comp sends hot gas straight up; from retention you will singe shirts.
• Only 9 mm; hotter .357 SIG or 10 mm bear-country loads off the table.
• Small controls can punish XXL hands without aftermarket levers.

P320 Line-Up

• P320 Compact/CARRY: 15–17 rd baseline.
• M17/M18: The U.S. military’s Modular Handgun System pick—kudos for a slew of duty holsters that just fit.
• P320 XCarry Legion: Tungsten-infused TXG grip (40 oz!) drops muzzle rise almost 50 %.
• P320 AXG Legion: Alloy frame, expansion-chamber slide, 21-rd mags included.
• P320 XTEN: 10 mm Auto, 15 rds, 5-in. bull barrel—niche, but mountain-lion-insurance.

Pros

• Broadest caliber spread in the striker world (9→10 mm).
• Legions are so heavy they feel like tricked-out competition pistols.
• Vast holster/optic/light aftermarket thanks to DoD & LE adoption.

Cons

• 1.3 in. girth and 7.9 in. length (XCarry) print under light fabrics.
• TXG models flirt with 43 oz loaded—think Sig P226 plus red-dot plus can weight.
• The drop-fire/“fires-itself” lawsuits keep stacking; WA State’s Police Academy pulled the gun from classes in 2024. -The Smoking Gun Sig vehemently refutes: “The P320 CANNOT discharge without a trigger pull—that is a fact.” -thefirearmblog.com

2. Shootability & Ergonomics

Recoil Math

• Macro-comp vs. XCarry TXG: high-speed video shows ~0.12 sec return-to-sight on the P365 Macro versus 0.10 sec on the XCarry Legion. Translation: the extra 14-oz of tungsten soaks almost the same impulse the comp vents.
• Despite the P365’s shorter 1.26-in. height over bore, the heavier slide impulse feels greater than a Glock 48 under +P loads; the X-MACRO comp erases that difference.

Triggers

The flat, skeletonised Legion shoe on both families averages 4.2 lb, with a 90-degree wall and 0.1-in. reset—roughly on par with a polished Gen 5 Glock minus pre-travel. The vanilla P365 curved shoe feels gritty until 500 rounds break-in; swap to the flat Sig OEM shoe if you value tactile feedback.

Optics Mounts

• P365 XL & newer slide cuts accept Holosun EPS Carry without plates—a game-changer for co-witness.
• P320 Legion plates cover RMR, Romeo2, DeltaPoint Pro, even Steiner MPS. Duty dudes love redundancy.

3. Capacity & Ballistics

Model	Cartridge	Barrel	Nominal Vel. w/ 124 gr +P
P365 FUSE	9 × 19 mm	4.3 in.	~1 260 fps
P365 X-MACRO	9 × 19 mm	3.1 in.	~1 175 fps
P320 XCarry	9 × 19 mm	4.6 in.	~1 280 fps
P320 XTEN	10 mm Auto	5 in.	~1 350 fps / 180 gr

Take-away: the 4.3-inch FUSE quietly closes the gap on compact duty guns; if you want magnum-class wound cavities, the P320 XTEN’s 10 mm hits harder than .357 Mag out of a 4-inch wheel-gun.

4. Modularity, Money & Aftermarket

• Drop-in grip modules under $100 let you tailor palm swell and back-strap arch—Wilson Combat WCP320 frames remain the gold standard for both guns if you crave 1911 angles.
• X-Series flat triggers retrofit across generations; likewise, Shield Arms metal mags feed flawlessly in P365s but sacrifice witness holes.
• Street prices in May 2025 have normalized post-panic: AXG Legions hover $1 099 while plain-Jane P320 Compacts dip to $550—barely above a Glock 19.

5. Durability & Safety Controversy

• An Army test logged 12 P320 M17 pistols to 25,000 rounds each with zero parts breakage beyond the recoil spring. -The Truth About Guns
• Civilian P320s made pre-Aug 2017 lack the “voluntary upgrade” striker & sear; if yours predates that run the free retrofit—period.
• Lawsuits: 80+ accidental discharge claims are winding through NH federal court. But note that training accoutrements (loose holster screws, worn kydex, excess lube) feature heavily in filings. Decide how much anecdote vs. data to weight.
• P365 hasn’t avoided hiccups—early striker peening (2018) and firing pin channel drag, now solved with beefed-up strikers.

6. Use-Case Scenarios & Our Opinionated Verdict

Scenario 1: You need one gun for everything—church carry, USPSA, bear spray backup.

Pick the P320 XCarry Legion. The heft and red-dot footprint let you treat it like a tuned production race gun, yet it still fits Safariland ALS duty rigs. Yes, you accept the lawsuit noise—just use a Safariland ALS 6378 holster that fully shields the trigger.

Scenario 2: Your wardrobe is athletic-fit polos and joggers.

Grab the P365 X-MACRO TACOPS. Macro’s 17+1 capacity defangs the “micro-9 vs double-stack” debate and the two-port comp makes 147 gr sub-sonic chrono like soft .38 Special. It is genuinely fun to shoot—rare for a 1-inch-thick pistol.

Scenario 3: You hate polymer flex and crave heirloom feel.

P365 AXG Legion wins. The alloy frame delivers “all-steel Commander” vibes at two-thirds the mass, and the integral comp keeps the front sight barely pulsing in the notch.

Scenario 4: You camp where claws & teeth roam.

P320 XTEN. 15 rds of 200 gr hard-cast at 1 250 fps equals .41 Mag path length. Carry two mags and you eclipse lever-gun energy.

Scenario 5: You’re recoil-averse or arthritic.

P365 FUSE—the extra barrel length gains velocity without the torque of a comp or the weight of tungsten.

7. Alternatives You Probably Haven’t Considered (but should)

1. Walther PDP F-Series: same 18 rd capacity but the best out-of-box trigger this side of a CZ race gun.
2. Glock 48 w/ Shield Arms mags: Glock reliability at 1.1 in. width; minus points for boring ergo.
3. Staccato CS: If $2 500 isn’t a blocker, you get true 1911 trigger nirvana in a P365-sized, optics-ready package.
4. Springfield Hellcat Pro RDP: built-in comp like the Macro but with Gen 5 Glock mag compatibility, saving you on spares.

8. Final Call

If you carry inside-the-waistband all day, every day, the P365 platform—especially the X-MACRO or AXG Legion—delivers duty-gun shootability in a sub-compact envelope. For home defense, suppressed night-stand duty, or any role where a holster shroud trumps concealment, the P320 Legion series remains the more forgiving pistol—bigger sight radius, nicer triggers out of the box, and caliber versatility that future-proofs the investment.

That said, this writer ultimately carries the Macro on the street and stages the XCarry Legion in the quick-access safe. Each gun excels where the other blinks.

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